IMO the difference between panty hose and tights is that tights stop at the ankle, while hose cover your feet. Plus, I think of hose as beige/opaque colored. I haven’t worn hose like Legg’s in a very long time. I do wear tights. Mostly, though, I wear pants. I went to a wedding reception last week and wore a mid-length dress. No hose but I did use bronzer—ceremony was outdoors on a patio and reception/dinner inside. Honestly, I don’t think anyone looked at my legs.
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OMG, I always feel sorry for young women in short dresses/coats and tall boots without any tights braving the elements downtown. Goosebumps-covered skin makes them look miserable and also doesn’t look fashionable (unlike perfectly smooth, photoshopped bare legs of models in product photos). Reminds me of skin-on chicken. Lol. But whatever floats their boat!
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Hmm… tights being footless is a new thing for me… maybe a dance terminology thing? For me, tights have feet - thicker dark hosiery (up to waist) that I wore as a young kid when Dad insisted that girls wear dresses, but it was cold outside. (or white tights for Easter). For me no-feet are leggings. Not saying I’m right, just giving one perspective.
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I still own some black knee highs that seem like stockings/nylons material (I think they were sold as “trouser socks”), but I haven’t actually worn them in years. I also have some nylon-like no shows I would wear with certain shoes, because they felt better that way. They still sold them in the grocery stores and dept. stores fairly recently.
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I wear knee-highs in the in-between months, too cold for sandals but not cold enough for knee-high boots. On the rare occasions that I must wear a dress or skirt too short for knee-highs, my preference is thigh-highs, although I will wear pantyhose or tights (thick pantyhose) before I go bare-legged in cold weather. I find mottled blue to be a most unattractive color. 
I’m having flashbacks of cutting off the leg of pantyhose that had a run in it and wearing it with another of the same.
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When I was young, pantyhose were called nylons by everyone. Maybe that was just a regional thing…
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Do you mean tights like this:
https://www.hannaandersson.com/girls-accessories-tights-socks/80941-SR4.html?dwvar_80941-SR4_color=SR4&cgid=
I have seen these on kids. I guess I was thinking of leggings (which are footless).
Here is an example of a manufacturer calling their product “footless tights.” 
https://www.nordstrom.com/s/commando-matte-footless-tights/4980043
Wait, then what’s the difference between leggings and tights?
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They were nylons when I was growing up too.
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My idea is leggings are footless and designed to be worn as an outer (or only, I suppose) layer.
Tights and stockings are designed to be worn under something, and could come in a footless version. I think of tights as being a little thicker than nylons/stockings, and more opaque. Tights also don’t run as easily as stockings.
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My two cents:
Pantyhose are sheer, tinted or nude and footed.
Tights are opaque and usually thick and footed.
Leggings are opaque and thick enough that you don’t necessarily need to cover your bum with a skirt and footless.
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No… to me tights look like pantyhose…. just thicker and more opaque. Sometimes for kids they were textured in a cable knit designs. Like these - https://www.amazon.com/Cotton-Tights-Seamless-Toddler-Leggings/dp/B07H5C7SSN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?c=ts&keywords=Girls'+Tights&psc=1&qid=1695069301&refinements=p_n_size_six_browse-vebin%3A4940397011&s=apparel&sr=1-2-spons&ts_id=1045462&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY
That’s how I’ve come to call anything pantyhose-like that is thick/opaque as “tights”. Winter wear. If sheer-ish, I call them pantyhose… even if black.
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To me, leggings are thicker than tights (which I think CAN have feet) and tights are thicker than pantyhose.
And I think the whole no-pantyhose movement makes no sense. Generations of women wore nylons which morphed into pantyhose, but now suddenly we’re supposed to go bare, spray something on, or wear tights under dresses? (nothing against tights, but not a great look for formal occasions, otherwise I’d go that direction.)
I realize of course we can do whatever we want, but the judginess that decreed this anti-pantyhose thing is super annoying.
That being said, I just don’t wear dresses anymore. Except for weddings. Not sure what I’ll do next time one comes up. These fat very white legs don’t need to be hanging out there on their own.
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Long dresses.
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I guess so!
Hahah, this conversation is cracking me up. Remember folks, we don’t debate on CC, we discuss!
Who wants to make a poll about all these names? 
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I love a caftan. Seriously. I have house caftans and out caftans. I have seasonal caftans (velvets for winter).
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Cool. When I think of caftans, I think of Lainie Kazan!